The Bruery Black Tuesday Grand Reserve

“Moderate oak and vanilla notes lead the charge and control the aroma. The flavor brings in dark malt character featuring Hershey’s chocolate syrup and roast. Rich and thick with a lingering sweetness and hints of oak. The vanilla rounds out all the rough edges without being out of balance.”

**Aroma:** “Vanilla and oak up front, with dark chocolate and chocolate syrup. Some toasty malt and roast, as well as dark stone fruit esters, and sweetness from the bourbon barrel. Overall, it’s fairly muted.” **Flavor:** “Moderate oak with cherries, chocolate, light smoke, and light vanilla mixed with some bitterness. The sweetness is nicely balanced by the roast, and it slowly fades. Notes of light coconut and almond are present, as well as lots of barrel character—but the vanilla and oak lead the charge. The medium body doesn’t quite stand up to the barrel treatment, and the roast bitterness lingers a little too long.” **Overall:** “Lots of barrel, but not a lot of beer—the barrel overshadowed it. The vanilla and oak were nice, but there wasn’t enough malt or body to back it up. There’s too much bourbon overall. It’s an interesting beer with nice barrel character, but not enough beer to overcome the bourbon and barrel.”

Aroma: “Musty cork, mushroom, light roast, strong fruit esters (apple and pear), some green-apple notes, spice notes of pepper or clove, some nail polish remover.” Flavor: “Tart dark fruit, not much stout/roast character. The musty character carries through from the nose. Very sweet and very boozy, but the booze helps balance the sweetness. Finish is tannic.” Overall: “There’s some great underlying dried-fruit malt character, with a pleasant warming booziness, but the musty cork/mushroom quality is just too much.”